The present invention relates to a small, lightweight and economically manufactured cigarette making machine which may be readily carried in a pocket or purse of a user person to enable a cigarette to be made at any desired time. More specifically, the invention relates to a cigarette making machine of the injection type wherein a supply of tobacco is compacted into cylindrical form, and is injected into a preformed cigarette tube positioned on the machine and operable, if desired, by a single hand.
The cigarette making machine of the present invention is an improvement of the machine described in my earlier U.S. Pat. No. 4,771,793 issued on Sep. 20, 1988. This patent is the closest known prior art.
Some of the features of the present invention are to provide a cigarette making machine which is very compact, easy to assemble, uses minimal plastic material in its fabrication and which can easily be customized. The machine is a streamlined elongated rectangular body which easily fits in the hand of the user and is operable with a single hand, if desired,. There are no side projection parts extending out of the rectangular smooth body.
According to the above feature of the present invention there is provided a compact cigarette making machine for compacting and inserting a quantity of tobacco into a preformed cigarette tube. The machine comprises a base of upwardly open channel-shape and having forward and rearward ends and an elongate tobacco injection spoon having a free end and having a concave cross-section secured at a predetermined elevated position within the base and stationary therewith. A tobacco receiving member is slidably retained within the base and movable to a position extending longitudinally outwardly from the rearward end of the base. The tobacco receiving member has at its forward end a removable partition carrying a hollow circular nipple to receive the open end of a preformed cigarette tube. The free end of the injection spoon passes through the hollow nipple during rearward movement of the tobacco receiving member with respect to the base. An elongate slot is provided in and extends through the tobacco receiving member to receive a quantity of tobacco. A cover is pivotally secured to the rearward end of the tobacco receiving member and slidable therewith with respect to the base. The cover is pivotally movable from an open position to a closed position overlying the tobacco receiving member. A tobacco compacting projection is also provided and has a lower surface which is concave in cross section and is carried by the cover and closes the top portion of the elongated slot when the cover is in closed position to compact tobacco inserted in the slot and onto the tobacco receiving member. A cigarette tube retainer is also provided and has a circular concave surface on the cover forwardly of the tobacco compacting projection. The concave surface of the retainer bears against the cigarette tube positioned on the nipple to hold the tube in position during tobacco injection. Bottom slot retaining means are provided in a lower portion of the base for slidingly engaging the tobacco receiving member. The cover is substantially of the same width as the base and has a pair of opposed inner tongues engagable under a respective elongated flange projecting inside the open channel-shaped base from opposed side walls thereof when the tobacco receiving member is retracted rearwardly over the base.
According to a further broad aspect of the present invention the cigarette making machine is a substantially elongated rectangular member having no outward projecting flanges and which is comfortable in the hand of a user and which can be operated by a single hand, if desired.
According to a further broad aspect of the present invention the cigarette making machine of the present invention is easy to assemble, uses less plastic material than prior art machines and may be customized for advertising purposes.